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Broken for the Master
A Closer look at Gideon

Tehillim (Psalm) 51:17 
The sacrifices of Elohim are a broken spirit;
A broken and contrite heart, Elohim, You will not despise. 

It has been said it is doubtful that YHWH can use a man until he has been adequately broken.  There is much in Scripture to suggest this very thing.  Even our opening passage suggests that in order to properly give anything at all to YHWH our Elohim, it must be done with a broken spirit and a broken heart.

Tehillim (Psalm) 34:18 
YHWH is near to them that are of a broken heart,
And saves such as are of a contrite spirit.

Notice that salvation comes to those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit.  The implication here is that those who do not have a broken heart and a contrite spirit cannot and will not experience salvation.

Tehillim (Psalm) 147:3 
He heals the broken in heart,
And binds up their wounds.

Only YHWH our Elohim is truly capable of healing a broken heart.  This does not mean that one will forget that which caused the heart to break in the first place; heaven forbid that one would forget such a thing.  The lessons which come to a person through the breaking of one’s heart are too valuable to be forgotten.

Yeshayah (Isaiah) 57:15 
For thus says the high and lofty One that inhabits eternity, whose name is Qadosh; “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.”

YHWH is with those who have a contrite and humble spirit.  He revives them who have a contrite heart.  Once again the implication here is that if one does not have a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then YHWH is not with that person and YHWH will not revive such a person.

Yeshayah (Isaiah) 66:2 
“For all these things My hand has made, and so all these things came to be,” says YHWH; “but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and that trembles at My word.”

YHWH takes notice of the person who has a poor and contrite spirit and the person who has a healthy fear of Him and His commandments.  YHWH will not notice the person who has no fear of Him, nor give him help in his hour of need.

Even Yeshua taught us this same thing concerning being broken hearted and poor of spirit.

Matithyah (Matthew) 5:3-4 
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.”

The basic meaning of being poor in spirit is that of one who has come to understand the following passages of Scripture.

Qorintyah Aleph (1st Corinthians) 4:7 
For who makes you better?  And what do you have that you did not receive?  But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

There is not anything at all that a person has not received.  Everything that a person has, he has received.  This certainly includes all of his gifts and talents and abilities.  Yea, even his very life.  The very next beat of his heart as well as his next breath is a gift from his Creator.  Man is truly a pauper in every sense of the word, for he can never truly own anything at all.  When a person comes to understand this truth, then he is ready for a true relationship with his Creator.  But until a man realizes this truth, he will not and cannot be in a right relationship with his Creator.

What keeps a person from the realization of this truth is pride.  For a more complete study on pride see the study “It’s a Sure Killer – Pride”.  In this study we examine the Scripture to see that from YHWH’s perspective, pride is sin; and that sin in particular keeps us away from Him.  All sin does keep one away from YHWH; however, when one digs below the surface of all sin, one will find pride lurking there.   

Mishle (Proverbs) 16:18 
Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before a fall.

In essence, this means that one cannot have any pride whatsoever in his life in order to please YHWH.  It is pride that causes one to stumble and to lead a life that is not pleasing to YHWH.  One must be on constant guard against this killer in his life for it will raise its head whenever possible.

Qorintyah Aleph (1st Corinthians) 10:12 
Therefore let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

When a person thinks in himself that he is strong enough to stand on his own, then his fall is surely imminent.  For when a person thinks he can stand in his own strength, then he is focused upon himself.  When a person is focused upon himself he will be unable to stand.  Only when we focus upon Mashiach Yeshua can we truly stand!

Romans 12:1 
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of Elohim, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to Elohim, which is your spiritual service.

YHWH’s plan and will for man is vastly different than man’s will for himself.  When a man accepts his Creator’s will and walks in the fullness thereof, then and only then can he be victorious.  It is when a man comes to realize that he has nothing to offer YHWH except brokenness, that YHWH can take that same brokenness and turn it into something great for His kingdom.

Let us take an example from Scripture to see how this is to play out in a person’s life.  Let us look to Gid’on (Gideon) for instruction in this matter.  The name “Gid’on” גדעון means a hewer, that is, “one who cuts down” (like cutting down a tree); and by extension “one who destroys”.  It seems more than appropriate that YHWH chose this man to destroy the Midyani (Midianites).

Shophtim (Judges) 6:14-15
14 And YHWH looked upon him, and said, “Go in this your might, and save Israel from the hand of Midyan; have not I sent you?”
15 And he said to Him, “For my Master, wherewith shall I save Israel?  Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the smallest in my father's house.”

Please note that YHWH asked Gid’on to go in his strength and defeat the Midyani.  However, please also note Gid’on’s response to YHWH.  Gid’on understood that he was nothing and had no resources with which to fight the Midyani.  Gid’on was broken.  It was for this very reason that YHWH came to Gid’on: because his family was least among the least and Gid’on himself was of no consequence.  Gid’on was already broken.  In this way the glory of YHWH could be manifest for all to see.

Shophtim (Judges) 6:16 
And YHWH said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall smite the Midyani as one man.”

YHWH assures Gid’on that He will be with him to help him defeat the Midyani.  Gid’on relinquishes his will and agrees to do as YHWH has asked of him.  But as we will see, it is not without Gid’on’s reservations in his own abilities.

Gid’on sends out a call to several of the tribes; namely, Manasseh, Asher, Zevulun, and Naphtali.  Those who responded and came to Gid’on were 32,000 men of war.

Shophtim (Judges) 7:2 
And YHWH said to Gid’on, “The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midyani into their hand, lest Israel exalt themselves against Me, saying, ‘By my own hand have I  saved myself.’”

YHWH understood that with an army of this size Israel would be puffed up and would think that he had delivered himself from the Midyani.  With an army of this size Israel would not be broken.

Shophtim (Judges) 7:3 
“Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whosoever is fearful and trembling, let him return and depart from mount Gilead.’”  And there returned of the people twenty and two thousand; and there remained ten thousand.

YHWH then instructs Gid’on to tell those who have any fear to return home.  This instruction is straight from Torah.

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 20:8 
“And the officers shall speak further to the people, and they shall say, ‘What man is there that is fearful and faint-hearted?  Let him go and return to his house, lest his brethren's heart melt as his heart.’”

So 22,000 men had fear and had to be confronted with this truth and to admit it for all to see.  They left and went back home.  They did not want to be there for whatever reason.  It did not matter what the reason was, they needed to leave so that they would not infect those with fear who did not have fear. 

However, there were still 10,000 men left and in YHWH’s view this was still too many men as it would not adequately show the glory of YHWH.  So, YHWH gives Gid’on further instructions on how further to reduce the number of his army.

YHWH had Gid’on bring all his men down to the creek and drink.  Those who knelt down on one knee and brought the water up to their mouths with their hands to drink were to be put into one company.  All those who knelt down on both knees were to be put into the other company.  Those who brought the water to their mouths with their hands were only three hundred men.  Gid’on was then instructed to send all the others home.

Shophtim (Judges) 7:6 
And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water.

The significance in this is that YHWH was looking for watchmen.  He needed men who were alert and ready at all times for battle.  When a man drinks water with his face to the water he can see nothing except water.  Someone could easily sneak up behind him at that time.  This is not the mindset of a watchman. 

However, a man who puts his hand to the water and brings the water to his mouth, watching all the while he is refreshing himself, is a true watchman.  He never ceases to watch and to be ready for action.  Such was the nature and mindset of these three hundred.

Shophtim (Judges) 7:9-10 
9 And it came to pass the same night, that YHWH said to him, “Arise, you go down into the camp; for I have delivered it into your hand.
10 But if you fear to go down, you go with Purah your servant down to the camp.”

The name of Gid’on’s servant was Purah, which means foliage.  YHWH told Gid’on to go into the camp camouflaged.

One thing that we should learn from this is that when one has a fear of something, and in particular, when one has a fear of doing that which YHWH has instructed one to do, then YHWH will also instruct him to go and face that fear head on.  This is what YHWH told Gid’on to do: to go right down into the enemy’s camp and face his fear head on.  In doing this Gid’on would see that there was actually nothing to fear at all.  Likewise, when we face our own fears head on we will see that YHWH is more than sufficient to help us overcome any and all obstacles and we shall be victorious if we follow His instructions.

So, down into the camp of the Midyani Gid’on went, camouflaged of course.

Shophtim (Judges) 7:13-15
13 And when Gid’on was come, behold, there was a man telling a dream to his comrade; and he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream; and, behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midyan, and came to the tent, and stuck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.”
14 And his comrade answered and said, “This is nothing else except the sword of Gid’on the son of Yo’ash, a man of Israel; into his hand Elohim has delivered Midyan, and all the host.”
15 And it was so, when Gid’on heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped; and he returned into the camp of Israel, and said, “Arise; for YHWH has delivered into your hand the host of Midyan.”

It is instructive to note that the name of Gid’on’s father was Yo’ash which means fire of YHWH.  The fire of YHWH is the father of Gid’on.  Of course Gid’on would overcome the Midyani, for YHWH is an all-consuming fire!

When Gid’on did as YHWH instructed him to do and faced his own fear face to face, then in and through that brokenness YHWH could work.  YHWH told Gid’on that if he was afraid, then he was to go down into the enemy’s camp.  So, Gid’on had to admit to himself as well as to his own servant that he was afraid.  Gid’on had to humble himself before his own servant.  But in doing so, YHWH provided the victory that he needed. 

Likewise, when we are broken and humble before others, especially those who serve us, then YHWH can give us the victory we are looking for.

Shophtim (Judges) 7:16 
And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put into the hands of all of them shofars, and empty clay pots, with torches within the clay pots.

Now, this is where the story gets very interesting and instructive for us today.  We must pay very close attention to these details, for in doing so YHWH will instruct us concerning our own brokenness.  Keep in mind these three things as we proceed: a shofar, a clay pot, and a torch, for each man.

Shophtim (Judges) 7:19-20
19 So Gid’on, and the hundred men that were with him, came to the outermost part of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch, when they had but newly set the watch; and they blew the shofars, and broke in pieces the clay pots that were in their hands.
20 And the three companies blew the shofars, and broke the clay pots, and held the torches in their left hands, and the shofars in their right hands wherewith to blow; and they cried, “The sword of YHWH and of Gid’on.”

Gid’on was instructed to equip each man with a clay pot, a shofar, and a torch.  Now keep in mind that each one would have already had a sword.  That was why they showed up in the first place: to do battle with the enemy.  It would make no sense at all to think that these seasoned warriors would have shown up to do battle without a sword. 

The sword, of course, represents the word of YHWH.  Next to this, the shofar represents the declaration of the word of YHWH.  So, these two are very closely related in the life of those who follow Mashiach Yeshua.

B’reshit (Genesis) 2:7 
And YHWH Elohim formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

As man was formed out of the dust of the ground, so too is a clay pot.  The clay pot represents man.  Please carefully note that the torch was placed inside the clay pot.  The torch represents the Ruach Qodesh.  In the same way that the torch was placed inside the clay pot, so too, the Ruach Qodesh needs to be placed inside of man.

Please note above in Shophtim 7:20 that the clay pots were broken.  This was done to instruct us, that in order for His light, via the Ruach Qodesh, to shine through us to those around us, we must be broken in the same way that the clay pots were broken in the days of Gid’on.

If a man is not broken, it does not matter how much one is filled with the Ruach Qodesh, the Ruach Qodesh will not and cannot shine through such a man.  It is imperative that each one of us becomes broken and remains so before YHWH our Elohim.

Shophtim (Judges) 7:22 
And they blew the three hundred shofars, and YHWH set every man's sword against his fellow, and against all the host; and they host fled as far as Beth-shittah toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel-meholah, by Tabbath.

When these three hundred men of Gid’on obeyed YHWH and broke their clay pots and then sounded their shofars, the fear of YHWH came upon the enemy and they destroyed one another.  Likewise, when we are obedient to His word, when we are broken and declare His word, the fear of YHWH will come upon the enemy and we shall have victory in Him.

ABBA YHWH, fill us with the Ruach Qodesh and then break us so that Your light might shine brightly for all to see; in the name of Mashiach Yeshua.  Amein.

Shabbat Shalom
Zerubbabel ben Emunah
www.onetorahforall.com
zerubbabel@onetorahforall.com

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